E-Business of Mazda Motor Corporation

Question: Discuss about theE-Business of Mazda Motor Corporation. Answer: About the Company Mazda Motor Corporation is a Japanese company in the automaker segment, headquartered in Hiroshima, Japan. The company deals in automobiles, light trucks and engines products and has many production plants worldwide. Some of the plants of the company are in Japan, Thailand, India, Colombia, Ecuador, Iran, and the USA (About Home, 2016). The Research and Development Centers of the company are in Hiroshima, and Kanagawa. The testing grounds are located in Hiroshima, Nagao, Kamikawa, Hokkaido and Arizona .Currently the company is under the leadership of Masamichi Kogai since the year 2013. In the year 2011, Mazda was the fifteenth largest automaker worldwide by its production. The company had a partnership with Ford from the year 1979 to 2010. Ford currently holds 2.1% of the stocks of Mazda. Post-partnership with Ford, Mazda got into an agreement with Toyota to form a partnership for long-term in the year 2015. In this partnership Mazda supplies fuel-efficient SkyActiv gasoline and die sel engine technology to Toyota and Toyota in return supplies Fuel Cell Systems to Mazda. Mazda has been making efforts to reduce its impact on the environmental damage for decades. Mazda undertook a new tagline under its new campaign, Driving Matters where the company advertised about the life of a driver (Driving Academy, 2016). Ease of Uses of the E-Commerce Site The web experience of a user that visits the website of Mazda Motor Corp. is gratifying. Accurate Product Description- the Company provides accurate description of the models and variants available under the Mazda banner. It removes all the discrepancies between site and the actual product. The customer has the option to analyze and compare all the available models along with product specifications. Sales- The customer can view the list of the distributors located near their place. This would help improve the sales of the company. The complete list of Mazda Distributors of Europe, Asia Pacific, North and South America and Middle East and Africa is provided along with the contact details. This would make it easier for the customer to locate the distributor and buy the car from the nearest outlet. Information about new releases- The Company makes announcement to make people aware of its new car launch. This would create curiosity in the customer about the new launch in the market and would also make them aware before they make any buying decision. This helps the customer in making an informed decision for buying. Driving Academy The Company also provides driving training to its customers. Anybody who is willing to learn as on how to drive a car can get basic as well as higher level training from the company. This facility put up by the company on their website attracts lot of potential customers. E-Business Applications Currently used by the Company The business currently only uses web as an e-business application to support the activities of the business. The web page is run under companys website that attracts the potential customers through e-marketing and advertising. It also enlarges the scope and reach of the company by putting all their products on the website and making it easily available to the customers. It in turns, increases sales, reduces marketing cost, is accessible for the client sitting in any part of the globe to access the website and see the desired product (Zone, 2011). It also makes communication easier for the client, as they can directly contact the nearest distributor. In the internal business system it builds a strong customer relationship management. The e-business applications allow the multinational company to make its presence worldwide at a low cost. E-Commerce Marketing Strategies Undertaken by Mazda The automation industry thrives on innovation. Similarly Mazda takes immense pride in citing their innovation through the marketing strategies undertaken. In the year 2011, the company launched a tagline Zoom-Zoom that stated that the company believed if its not worth driving then according to the company its not worth even building such a car. The company builds Mazdas and asked the users what do they drive? This strategy became successful, to state that the product manufactured by the company is of superior quality and is worth the cost. In the year 2015, the company launched a new campaign under its new tag line that said that driving matters. This marketing campaign aimed to show a life of a driver. These marketing strategies undertaken by the company did generate a lot of web traffic and ultimately led to a boost in the sale of the product. The company through its online marketing strategies promotes the products and also highlights its innovation and technological developments. Another marketing initiative undertaken was to start with the driving academy. The logic behind this initiative was, that if a person doesnt know how to drive he would never be a potential client, so why not tap the untapped market and make them the potential client by imparting them driving lessons in basic and higher category. This marketing strategy also proved to be a positive step for the company. E-Commerce Supply Chain Strategies Supply chain management is the main and primary act of every business activity undertaken. If this management is done right and strategically the company could generate great revenues. Mazda opted for a web based solution that took them forward. This system helped the company to provide the parts to the customers at the right time without maintain high inventory (Syncron, 2011). The key problem in the supply chain was lack of visibility into regional centers of distribution and inventories that the dealers maintain. With the new system it became easier for the company to monitor the supply chain, information for balancing the under stock or overstock, transferring parts to the storage facilities and maintain inventories of various parts became easy. The company expects further improvements in the supply chain and assumes that will lead to better customer satisfaction and experience (Austenfeld, 2004). E-Commerce Securities Strategies The company has undertaken the security strategy seriously. The first and foremost thing Mazda has done is chosen a secure ecommerce platform. The administration panel is not accessible to the attackers because that could only be operated by the internal team. The company has avoided any mode of taking payments online, it has completely skipped the part where any transaction is made online, and this reduces the risk of threat. The company monitors the sites regularly for malware and viruses (Schiff, 2013). IT Architecture of the Company Mazda is a company that operates on an international level. It is constantly faced with challenges at different level of the operations. To meet those challenges and solve these problems the company had a demand for advanced technological infrastructure. The company adopted Oracle to support the global business and to also establish the foundation of information technology for the next generation. Since the company manufactures and operates on a global level this system helps them in integrating multiple systems and to standardize their business procedures. The company plans to reduce the cost of developing and to maintain a system for information along with reducing the implementation time. It plans to improve its performance and productivity which will ultimately lead to higher profits. This system undertaken responds at a higher speed to the changes whether in market or operations (Mazda Comprehensively Adopts Oracle Automotive Industry Solutions, 2011). Recommendations The business of Mazda could be more effective through the use of internet. The company could change the traditional way of selling the cars. The company could give all the product details on the website of the company which is accessible throughout the world, prices of the product and date of delivery should also be given. This will lead to increment in the sale of the company product as it will eliminate the cost of the middleman, i.e., the distributors. The company can then make the delivery at the doorstep of the customer. Another feature that a company could add to its cap is an internet based application that it could install in the smart phones of the user of the car. It would sync the car with the Smartphone, so if incase the car is lost, it could be tracked by the phone, or if the car is experiencing any technical error it could be updated to the client on their phones. Even in the case when the car needs to be re-fueled it could be signaled to the user. This would make the e xperience of the user more gratifying. The company could also book appointments for sales, service or test drive through its website. This would also affect the business of the company in a positive manner. Conclusion E-business is a concept where a company does business through the internet. In the 21st century, where everything is fast paced and technology is the new thing it becomes essential for an automobile company to take part of its operations online. If an automobile company like Mazda makes its presence online, it delivers a better experience to its user. The ecommerce website makes it easier for the clients to see and compare the products online. A company has to undertake lot of marketing strategies to keep up with the trend and competition. It also involves taking some security measures and building up IT infrastructure (Smith and Kidd , 2000). The use of internet in this fast paced technology driven world would ultimately help Mazda to improve their business opportunities. References Austenfeld, R. (2004). Mazda Motor Corporations Strategy. [Online]. Available at: URL https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.564.1764rep=rep1type=pdf [Accessed on 27 September 2016]. Schiff, J. (2013). 15 ways to protect your ecommerce site from hacking and fraud.[Online]. https://www.cio.com/. Available at: URL https://www.cio.com/article/2384809/e-commerce/15-ways-to-protect-your-ecommerce-site-from-hacking-and-fraud.html [Accessed on 27 September 2016]. Smith, B.and Kidd, P. (2000). E-business: Key Issues, Applications and Technologies[Online]. 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